Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art:
Posing as a West German TV production crew, the two East German directors of this film persuaded a former leading German mercenary of the Congo civil war (one of many!) to discuss his activities and heroic achievements in what is surely one of the most sensational exposés of its kind. Continually smiling or laughing, this man, a self-acknowledged Nazi, proudly reveals that he went to the Congo to save Western civilization from Bolshevism – to complete the work of the Nazis. Dressed in his military jungle uniform (with his Second World War decorations) he waxes eloquent about the ‘colours’ of South Africa, ‘explains’ apartheid, and freely discusses his ‘adventures’. Shots of corpses, tortures, and executions of Blacks are intercut. It is not often that one can see and hear a real, ‘live’ Nazi in action, talking (more or less) freely because he presumed himself to be among friends instead of with two of the most clever political propagandists of our time, working for the other side.Read More »
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Walter Heynowski & Gerhard Scheumann – Der lachende Mann – Bekenntnisse eines Mörders (1966)
1961-1970Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive ArtDocumentaryGerhard ScheumannGermanyPoliticsWalter Heynowski -
Jean-Louis Bertuccelli – Docteur Françoise Gailland AKA No Time for Breakfast (1976)
1971-1980DramaFranceJean-Louis BertuccelliSynopsis
In the course of her career, Françoise Gailland has earned herself a reputation as a formidable medical practitioner, highly respected at the Paris hospital where she works. But this professional success has come at a price. She has neglected her family, to the extent that she is virtually estranged from her husband and teenage children. When she is diagnosed with lung cancer, Françoise decides to set the record straight, whilst she still has time…Read More » -
George Cukor – Gaslight (1944)
1941-1950CrimeDramaGeorge CukorUSA
Quote:
After the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The two return to London, and Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband’s intentions come into question.Read More » -
Rustam Khamdamov – Meshok bez dna AKA The Bottomless Bag AKA Yakhonty. Ubiystvo (2017)
2011-2020ArthouseMysteryRussiaRustam KhamdamovThe film is based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s story “In a Grove” which takes place during the times of Tsar Alexander II. A lady-in-waiting tells the Emperor in his bedroom a metaphysical story about a 13th century prince who is killed in the woods under mysterious circumstances. Fairy tale characters who have witnessed the terrible death, all share their version of the events, gradually shedding light on what really happened.Read More »
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Jean-Daniel Pollet – Dieu sait quoi (1994)
1991-2000ExperimentalFranceJean-Daniel PolletPhilosophyPhilosophy on ScreenQuote:
Dieu sait quoi can be described as a cinematographic essay managing to convey Francis Ponge’s approach to the world, his special relation between silent objects and speech, defining the space of life and knowledge.Read More »
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Romano Scavolini – Lo stato d’assedio AKA L’amore breve AKA Besieged (1969)
1961-1970ArthouseDramaItalyRomano ScavoliniSynopsis
‘A wealthy shipbuilding family falls apart in the wake of labor unrest and economic crisis. Lorenzo is the son who returns home from college and falls in love with his mother, hates his father even more, and makes love to an older family friend Roberta. […] The family sinks into further disarray as the labor strike continues and the family fortune is depleted.’
– Dan PavlidesRead More » -
Nunzio Malasomma & Mario Bonnard – Non ti conosco più AKA I Don’t Know You Anymore (1936)
1931-1940ComedyItalian Cinema under FascismItalyMario BonnardNunzio MalasommaNon ti conosco più (I don’t know you anymore) is a 1936 film directed by Nunzio Malasomma based on a theatrical text by Aldo De Benedetti, who also worked on the script.
Quote:
Luisa is the shrewish wife of the attorney Paolo Malpieri who can’t stand the avarice of her husband who refuses to satisfy her whims: a new car, an electric water heater and new furniture.Read More » -
Claude Chabrol – L’oeil du malin AKA The Third Lover (1962)
1961-1970ArthouseClaude ChabrolDramaFranceQuote:
André Mercier, is a failed, embittered writer, working under the pen name Albin Mercier. On a journalism gig in Germany, his path crosses with that of Andreas Hartmann, another writer, who’s managed to make a living for himself. The successful Andreas is married to Hélène, a beautiful Frenchwoman, who quickly becomes the apple of Mercier’s eye. While Andreas is off on a business trip, Mercier tries to seduce Hélène to make her his lover and, eventually, take over Andreas’ life.Read More » -
Sergei Loznitsa – State Funeral (2019)
2011-2020DocumentaryLithuaniaPoliticsSergei LoznitsaQuote:
Unique, mostly unseen before, archive footage from March 1953, presents the funeral of Joseph Stalin as the culmination of the dictator’s personality cult. The film addresses the issue of Stalin’s personality cult as a form of terror-induced delusion. It gives an insight into the nature of the regime and its legacy, still haunting the contemporary world.Read More »








